LINGUIST List 17.124
Mon Jan 16 2006
FYI: Project: The Codifiers and the English Language
Editor for this issue: Svetlana Aksenova
<svetlanalinguistlist.org>
Directory
1. Anita
Auer,
Project: The Codifiers and the English Language
Message 1: Project: The Codifiers and the English Language
Date: 16-Jan-2006
From: Anita Auer <a.auerlet.leidenuniv.nl>
Subject: Project: The Codifiers and the English Language
We would like to introduce a five-year project in the fields of 'English Historical (Socio-)Linguistics' and the 'History of Linguistic Thought', which has commenced at the University of Leiden, Netherlands in July 2005. The project titled ''The Codifiers and the English Language: Tracing the Norms of Standard English'' seeks to trace different aspects of the process of linguistic influence during the Late Modern English period (1700-1900). Linguistic influence is being investigated between individuals, within social networks, from grammars and grammarians on other grammars as well as on speakers and writers of English. Our investigations thus focus on the final stages of the standardisation process, codification and prescription.
Questions like ''Where did eighteenth-century codifiers find the linguistic norm they advocated in their grammars? How did their own language compare with the norms of correctness they formulated? What was the effect of normative writing on actual usage?'' will be addressed by means of the research model of Social Network Analysis, which is being adapted for the analysis of the full sociolinguistic competence of people living in the past. The main approach taken in this project differs substantially and significantly from current work in historical sociolinguistics in that it focuses on the language of individuals as reflected in private documents, published and unpublished, in the context of the social networks to which they belonged. In doing so, the codifiers themselves are treated as sociolinguistic informants. Their grammars are looked at in the context in which they were produced and in which they exercised their influence, on language users as well as on other grammars. The grammars will therefore be considered as having similar roles as individuals within social networks (linguistic innovators, early adopters, followers). An important objective of the project is to put back eighteenth-century grammarians on the linguistic agenda in order to create a better understanding of normative grammar as such and, in particular, prescriptive grammarians, their methods and motivations.
As part of this project workshops are being organised twice a year that focus on topics such as grammars and grammar writing, social networks, corpus linguistics, etc.
A detailed description of the project and its aims can be found on the following website: http://www.lucl.leidenuniv.nl/index.php3?m=13&c=122&garb=0.2355847861541106&session= We also operate a web log (http://weblog.leidenuniv.nl/let/eng/codifiers/), which may be used as a platform for academic exchange and which we invite you to visit regularly.
If you are interested in the project or any aspects of it, don't hesitate to get in touch with us at codifierslet.leidenuniv.nl.
Please note that there will be two vacancies for paid PhD positions from 1 September 2006 (see the project website for further details).
Linguistic Field(s): Historical Linguistics Sociolinguistics
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